Writer’s Draft v1.0 – 4 February 2000

FM 34-80-2/ST

CHAPTER 4

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE COMPANY OPERATIONS

The MI Company is an essential component of the Brigade’s ISR effort. The company is structured, manned, and trained to execute ISR analysis and collection operations in support of the Brigade and its subordinate units. Successful planning, preparation, and execution of these operations requires the MI company leaders and soldiers to have a clear understanding of the supported commanders’ concept of operation and intelligence requirements as well as the ability to rapidly adapt to ever evolving technology, threats, and environments.

SECTION I – MISSION

4-1. The DS MI Company conducts intelligence analysis and collection in support of the Brigade’s planning, preparation, and execution of multiple, simultaneous decisive actions across the distributed area of operations.

SECTION II – ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS

4-2. The DS MI Company is organized to support brigade operations with both analytical and collection assets. It is flexible in structure and readily integrates additional control and collection assets from division, corps or echelons above corps.

THE DIRECT SUPPORT MILITARY INTELLIGENCE COMPANY

4-3. The MI Company consists of a small headquarters element, an Analysis and Control Team (ACT), a REMBASS team, two Ground Surveillance Radar teams, a HUMINT team, a counterintelligence team, an Air reconnaissance platoon, and attached intelligence collection and control organizations.

Figure 3-1. DS MI Company collection and analysis assets

COMPANY HEADQUARTERS

4-4. The MI Company headquarters, consisting of the commander and the First Sergeant, controls all the operational, logistical, administrative, and training activities of the company. The commander directs the employment of the company in accordance with assigned missions and guidance from the Brigade Headquarters. He accepts and integrates attached MI collection and control assets. He works closely with the commanders of supported and supporting units to ensure that the company can accomplish its mission. The commander establishes and enforces policies to promote discipline and morale within the company. Some specific MI company commander responsibilities are:

  • Continually assess the needs of the company in terms of its ability to sustain its internal operations and its ability to support assigned missions.
  • Establish clear and consistent standards and guidance for training and operations. This guidance allows the MI company subordinate leaders to adhere to the commander’s intent without his constant personal supervision when his duties require his presence elsewhere.
  • Coordinate the administrative and logistical support of the company from the Brigade’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

The MI Company commander positions himself where he can best fulfill all of his command responsibilities. The First Sergeant provides critical C2 support that allows the company commander the flexibility to position himself wherever the situation dictates.

ANALYSIS CONTROL TEAM

4-5. The ACT conducts the situation development, target development, and battle damage assessment in support of the Brigade S2 Section. The ACT gathers, analyzes, and fuses information from multiple echelons and sources to produce intelligence products that meet the Brigade commander's decision making and planning requirements. The ACT’s analysis of incoming combat information and intelligence reports supports the S2 Operations Team assessment and presentation of the current threat situation. Its term and pattern analysis assists in predicting possible threat courses of action and tipping off potential future activities within the area of operations by individuals, or groups. It has the organic processing and communications systems to collaborate with external analytic elements, subordinate Battalion S2s, and the Division ACE to continuously update and refine the threat portion of the Brigade’s common operating picture. The ACT pulls and receives intelligence and other relevant information from non-organic ISR organizations to enhance the analysis and reporting of organic ISR assets.

HUMINT Team

4-6. The HUMINT team operates in general support of the brigade or in direct support of subordinate elements of the brigade. It conducts interrogation, debriefiing, Force Protection Source Operations, and document exploitation in support of brigade operations. (See Chapter 7, HUMINT operations for details on the employment, mission and capabilities of the HUMINT assets.

AIR RECONNAISSANCE PLATOON

4-7. The platoon operates Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (TUAVs) in direct support of the maneuver Brigade (out to 50 km for periods up to 4 hours). The TUAV provides the commander the ability to look out past the range of his ground assets with enhanced real time situation awareness. The DS Air Reconnaissance platoon has limited organic maintenance capability. The Platoon will have its headquarters and mission-planning team collocated with the MI Company headquarters. The ground control station is normally collocated with the brigade’s main command post to allow dynamic retasking of the TUAV assets by the brigade commander. The second GCS is normally located near the Launch and Recovery Section. The Launch and Recovery Section is normally located at a site (road, soccer field etc) suitable for the launch and recovery of the TUAVs. The maintenance section is collocated with the Launch and Recovery Section. (See Chapter 8, Imagery Operations for details on the employment, mission and capabilities of the TUAV.)

GSR/REMBASS PLATOON

4-8. GSR/REMBASS teams are integrated within the brigade’s reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition plan to identify and locate the threat along the brigade’s front, flank, or rear and to provide early warning, surveillance, and target acquisition. They provide coverage on routes or areas not easily accessible or desirable for maneuver forces. The platoon consists of a platoon headquarters and two mixed GSR/REMBASS Squads (each consisting of two mixed GSR/REMBASS Teams). (See Chapter 9, MASINT Operations for details on the employment, mission and capabilities of the GSR/REMBASS assets.)

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TEAM

4.9. The Counterintelligence team operates in general support of the brigade. It conducts CI investigations, vulnerability and operations security assessments and in conjunction with the HUMINT team conducts CI Force Protection Source Operations. (See Chapter 11, Counterintelligence operations for details on the employment, mission and capabilities of the CI assets.

AUGMENTATIONS

4-10. The DS MI Company, particularly when operation as the maneuver element of the ARFOR, will have intelligence elements from the Divisional MI battalion either attached, operating in direct support or operation in the Brigade’s Area of Operation in General Support of the division (ARFOR). Augmentations can include:

HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

4-11. Additional HUMINT collectors will normally be attached to the DS MI Company in direct support of brigade operations. Dependent on METT-TC, the brigade will receive part or all of the division’s assets. Additional HUMINT collectors may be added from Corps or EAC especially in Small Scale Contingency (SSC) operations which have a “HUMINT rich” environment. HUMINT augmentation will include a C2 element. (See Chapter 7 HUMINT Operations for details on the employment, mission and capabilities of HUMINT assets)

SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE

4-12. A portion of the SIGNALS Intelligence platoon will normally be attached to the DS MI Company to support the maneuver brigade. Attachment will consist of a combination of TLQ-17, TRQ-32, Prophet systems, and PRD-13. It will also include a portion of the SIGINT operations team and C2 element. (See chapter 10 Signals Intelligence Operations for details on the employment mission and capabilities of SIGINT assets)

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

4-13. Additional Counterintelligence agents may be attached to the maneuver brigade to provide CI support to vulnerability or operational assessments or as part of a HUMINT collection team to identify HUMINT collection opportunities of CI significance. In most cases, the CI agents will fall under the HUMINT C2. (See chapter 11 Counterintelligence Operations for details on the employment mission and capabilities of CI assets)

LONG RANGE SURVEILLANCE

4-14. The division LRS detachment will normally remain in GS of the division, under the control of the DTAC, although on rare occasions they may be attached to the brigade for specific operations. There will be a LRS liaison located at the brigade TOC to expedite the passing of combat information collected by LRS teams. (See chapter 12 Long Range Surveillance Operations for details on the employment mission and capabilities of LRS assets)

CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

4-15. The MI Company has general capabilities that include –

  • Provides flexible an organization capable of accepting augmentations from the division’s MI battalion.
  • GSS/REMBASS capability
  • UAV capabiltiy
  • Limited HUMINT Collection capability
  • CI Investigative and analytical capability
  • Analytical capability

4-16. The general limitations of the MI Company are –

  • Depends upon the Analysis and Control Element to conduct multi-discipline intelligence analysis and integrate division ISR operations.
  • No organic HUMINT, SIGINT, or Counterintelligence collection capability

SECTION III – COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS

4-17. Effective operations require the clear designation of the leaders, facilities, and communications channels. The Military Intelligence Company is part of a secure, multi-level, intelligence communications and processing architecture. This architecture has redundant, dedicated, broad-bandwidth communications to disseminate and collaborate within the Brigade’s area of operation. It also provides the Company with an organic reachback capability with direct access to out-of-theater support and the ability to inject or receive broadcast intelligence. The robust intelligence architecture ensures the dissemination of critical combat information and intelligence products to both analog and digital organizations and facilitates collaboration with both internal and external intelligence producers and analysts. The Company has the ability to define, influence and receive relevant, tailored analytic support and products essential to the successful evaluation of the battlefield environment and the threat.

COMMAND AND CONTROL

4-18. The Company command post collocates with the Brigade S2 Section. It consists of the Analysis Platoon, the Integration Platoon, and the headquarters of the HUMINT Platoon. The command post location must support the dissemination of tasking, reports, and technical data between the ISR Integration Platoon, RSTA Squadron, the next higher echelon, and intelligence support bases outside the area of operations.

4-19. The Company command post operates at the collateral security level to ensure the timely dissemination of combat information and targeting data to organizations operating outside intelligence channels. The collateral-level operating environment also limits the damage to the Brigade’s intelligence operations should threat forces capture the command post or its personnel. Operations above this level require the Company to have the approval of the Brigade S2 and comply with security regulations governing the establishment of a field special compartmented information facility (SCIF). For example, the commander must establish a SCIF if a TROJAN SPIRIT Team is attached to the Company since it normally operates above the collateral classification level.

4-20. The MI Company operates on three basic communications nets, brigade command net, the brigade operations and intelligence (O/I) net, and the Company command net.

  • The brigade command net links the MI Company with the brigade headquarters that it is supporting.
  • The O/I net links the collectors to the consumers of the collected intelligence information. It is used to pass information of immediate value to the affected unit and to the S2 and analytical elements at the supported unit.
  • The Company Command net links the MI Company headquarters to it subordinate elements. It is used to pass all command, logistical and administrative information.

4-1

Writer’s Draft v1.0 – 4 February 2000